Thread by @aradboaz

This 82 yr old woman from Kabul has an amazing story. We'll get to it in a bit. This is the second time in her life on a plane. The first was just a few days before this photo was taken, as she and 124 other Afghans boarded an extraordinary evacuation flight from Mazar-i-Sharif >

This flight was the final lap of a nerve wrecking operation run by Israeli volunteers, the brainchild of three incredible women - journalist @dannaz (NYT/Haaertz), film director @roniaboulafia ("Honorable Men") and San-Diego based philanthropic fund manager Charlene Seidle >

It was executed on the ground by them and by Israeli NGO @IsraAID out of makeshift war rooms in Dushanbe, where local journalist/superwoman @Anahita_SD was making miracles happen and IsraAID's @y_polizer was busy texting diplomats and billionaire donors over Whatsapp 24/7 >

What was orig. supposed to be a land crossing through Tajikistan helped by Afghan contacts with the right connections in Taliban checkpoints and included delivering a large amount of Afghan passports across the border went wrong fast - so plan B kicked into action. They fly out >

Against all odds, the plane took off and arrived at Dushanbe. There, the 82 yr old and the rest of the evacuees had to wait a few days until a country that would host them temporarily could be found. Albania's PM, Edi Rama, was willing to help. Next stop: Tirana >

There were female athletes and students on the flight. Young, motivated, with a very bleak future under Taliban. Human rights activists, female police officers, judges, all blacklisted. And there was also this lovely woman - Tova Moradi. Born to a big Jewish family in Kabul >

While the press was busy with Zevulun Semantov, "Afghanistan's last Jew", Moradi - really the last Jew to leave - stayed off radar. Her brothers and sisters all left to Israel decades ago. She got married young, with a Muslim, and kept a low profile. But the neighbours knew >

The Taliban's return put her and her family in danger. One of her daughters, who lives in Canada, pleaded for help with a few Jewish orgs. When IsraAID's @y_polizer heard the story it was clear to him everything possible should be done to get her out and bring her to safety >

Tova Moradi is now at a small seaside resort in Albania that houses her and other Afghans, from where she hopes to continue to Canada. This week, for the first time in 60 years, she videochatted with her sisters and family in Israel from which she was completely disconnected ❤️>

More about Tova Moradi's story here:
apnews.com/article/afghan…